CH 10 SEC 3 Spanish Speaking South America

I. Conquest and the end of Spanish Rule The Inca built an empire that stretched 2500 miles along the west coast of South America by 1500 A.D. Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca by 1533 and forced the Inca to work in mines and farms, many of them worked to death.

I. Conquest and the end of Spanish Rule The Spanish destroyed the Inca culture and communities, forcing their religion and language upon them. There are still many people who speak the Inca language, Quechua, but the region has been difficult to govern because of the splitting up of similar groups.

I. Conquest and the end of Spanish Rule After the American and French revolutions, the countries in South America wanted to win their independence from Spain. Two main leaders of independence were Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. They successfully gained independence, but the geography of the continent made unification nearly impossible.

I. Conquest and the end of Spanish Rule Once the countries of South America gained their independence, democracy has been difficult to achieve. The years of Spanish rule turned into either military rule or dictatorships in the freed countries. Even today democracy is hard to achieve in many of the countries.

II. A Cultural Mosaic Because there are so many different cultures that did not mix very much due to the geography, it created a cultural mosaic. The literature, music, and the arts reflect the different cultures and regions, with the various areas having their unique styles.

III. Economics The economies in South America rely on agriculture and natural resources such as oil and minerals. But since there is still a huge gap between the rich and poor, the countries are still not as developed as others in the world.

III. Economics There are a large variety of products that are produced because of the different climates and resources that South America has. Chile is the biggest success story economically. They send fruits and vegetables to North America, and they have large copper mines.

III. Economics Chile has also taken the lead in South America, trying to get other countries to work together, as an associate member of Mercosur.

IV. Education Many of the countries in South America have high literacy rates, and they are the same for men and women. The literacy rates are higher than those in Central America and the Caribbean. There are also many vocational colleges and universities available to train students for their careers.

IV. Education Chile has very high literacy, at around 95% of adults. Young people are higher at 98%. All children go to school until 13, and that education is free. Higher education has suffered because of political unrest, however, it has recovered since 1990.

In your notebooks Choose one of the countries in South America, besides Brazil, and create a chart that shows the resources of that country. List the resources and what part of the country they come from.